Manchester City will endeavour to return to winning ways when they travel to the Vitality Stadium to face Bournemouth in the Premier League on Saturday evening.
While the Citizens have drawn back-to-back games by a 1-1 scoreline away against Nottingham Forest and RB Leipzig, the Cherries secured a 1-0 win over Wolverhampton Wanderers in their last match.
Early team news from Pep Guardiola suggested that Kevin De Bruyne could be fit enough to return but the fixture comes too soon for Aymeric Laporte and John Stones.
With that in mind, here is how the Media and some fans think City should line-up to face the Cherries this weekend.
Manchester City will be looking to overturn a two-match winless streak when they make the trip to the Vitality Stadium to face Bournemouth in what is expected to be a lopsided contest.
The reigning champions were pegged back to second in the Premier League table last week following a frustrating 1-1 draw against Nottingham Forest, but Arsenal’s dramatic comeback victory at Villa Park saw them leapfrog the defending champions in the table.
They suffered a similar fate in Germany against RB Leipzig in the first leg of their Champions League last-16 tie on Wednesday, as they were held back in the second half by a towering header from transfer target Josko Gvardiol to make it 1-1 after Riyad Mahrez put the Citizens ahead in the opening period.
While City have only lost one of their past eight games in all competitions, their recent away record leaves a lot to be desired, as they haven’t won five of their last six games on the road, conceding in each of their previous five.
City could trail the Gunners by five points by the time they face Bournemouth, with Mikel Arteta’s side travelling to Leicester City for an earlier kick-off. So there is no margin for error if Pep Guardiola’s side wants to close the gap on the league leaders.
As for Bournemouth, they registered their first win since before the World Cup with a hard-fought 1-0 away win over Wolves last weekend, which was a huge morale booster. However, this is no time for Gary O’Neil’s troops should not lose sight of the fact that they are currently 17th in the league, only one point ahead of relegation-zoned West Ham United.
The Citizens hammered the Cherries 4-0 at the Etihad Stadium when the two teams clashed in the reverse fixture back in August. Expect a similar outcome here. Ahead of the latest meeting between the two sides, The Hard Tackle takes a closer look at the encounter.
